


New Leaf

by RedTeamShark



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Author Chose Not To Tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-07
Updated: 2014-01-07
Packaged: 2019-09-07 07:35:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16849849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedTeamShark/pseuds/RedTeamShark
Summary: One new town resident with a temper, mistaken as mayor. One hyperactive, way-too-talkative mayoral assistant. Five or six extremely annoying town residents who demand the mayor take care of their every need. Michael didn’t ask for any of this when he moved from New Jersey to Texas.





	New Leaf

**Author's Note:**

> Proper warnings, tags, etc, may come in the future. For the time being I'm frantically transferring my content to a stable platform amidst growing concerns about tumblr's inevitable implosion.
> 
> Apologies for flooding the fandom page.

Moving sucked, Michael decided as he sat on the train, arms crossed and brown eyes focused on the passing scenery outside. Moving to a place he’d never been to before, unsure if he would actually be able to find a house and not have to live on the streets sucked even more. But it was what he had to do, he just couldn’t take living in New Jersey anymore… Hopefully the residents of Texas would be less annoying, less likely to make him want to rip his hair out or go on a killing spree (or both).

He felt eyes on him, dared a glance away from the window and made the mistake of making eye contact with the person that was staring at him. Immediately, the guy got to his feet, rushing over and smiling widely. Well, goddammit.

“Hey, do you have the time?”

Michael heaved a sigh, but checked his watch. “It’s 12:03 in the afternoon.”

“What’s the date?”

“Seriously, dude? It’s March 15.” He rolled his eyes, turning back towards the window.

“Oh, thanks! Yeah, my watch always seems to end up off by a little bit. Mind if I sit down?” Before he could answer, the guy took a seat across from him, smiling widely. “So, what’s your name?”

“Michael.” He grumbled out begrudgingly, crossing his arms.

“Oh, I like that name! Where are you headed, Michael?”

Of course he’d catch the eye of the weirdo on the train.  _Of fucking course_. “Texas. I’m moving.”

“Moving! That’s exciting! Do you have a place to live in Texas?” The guy’s eyes lit up and Michael fought down the urge to get up and move to a new seat in the train car. The car wasn’t nearly big enough for him to avoid this guy successfully.

“I’ll figure something out when I get there.”

“Hmm… you know, I don’t think I’ve been to Texas before. Is it on the map?” The guy turned, running hs finger along the map of the train route. “Is this it?” He questioned, pointing to a small town along the stop.

Rubbing his temples, Michael leaned over and pointed out Texas. “It’s right there.” He corrected, adding in under his breath “the map is fucking labeled.”

“Oh, that’s the next stop!” The guy declared, clapping his hands once in excitement. “Maybe I’ll come visit your little town sometime. I’ve just been riding the rails lately…”

Of course he’d been sucked into a conversation with a hobo on his way to his new, hopefully less irritating life. The future did not look particularly bright to Michael. “Well, I better get off the train…” He muttered, grabbing his backpack and hurrying from the car when it came to a stop. He stepped out of the shadows of the train station, stopping in his tracks to see a small crowd of people around the platform. “What the fuck…”

“Welcome!” The group cried in unison, clapping their hands. “Hello to our new mayor, Michael!”

This couldn’t be fucking happening.

“There must be some sort of mistake. I’m not the mayor!” He shouted over the clapping crowd, nearly falling on his ass as he hastily took a step backwards. Someone stepped up to him, a guy with messy, sandy hair sticking up in every direction and bright eyes that ran up and down him quickly. A wide grin stretched the guy’s face as he grasped Michael’s hand and shook it.

“Of course you are, Mayor Michael! You sent us a letter saying that you’d be arriving on this train and here you are. Oh, this is just top! Come on, we should get to the Town Hall.” The guy still hadn’t let go of his hand and so when he turned and hurried away from the train station, Michael was forced to stumble after him.

He tried to protest, but the words seemed stuck in his throat, coherency leaving him. What the fuck was going on?

Soon enough the guy had dragged him into a building labeled ‘Town Hall’ and finally let go of his hand, standing in front of him and clasping his hands together. “I’m so glad you’re here, our new mayor! Kinda young, but like they say, youth breathes new life!”

“I… what?”

“Oh, this is so unprofessional of me. I’m Gavin, the mayoral assistant! I’ll help you with your paperwork and tell you anything you need to know about the town, things like that. Speaking of paperwork…” Gavin turned, nearly tripping over his feet as he lunged for the desk, coming up with a pile of papers. “We didn’t quite complete your paperwork before you got here, I’m sorry. When’s your birthday?”

“July 24. But I’m not—“

“Oh, awesome! Alright, and… hmm… oh, we need an address for you.” Gavin looked up, face flushing. “Uh, I didn’t… that is to say we weren’t  _sure_ …”

Michael rubbed his temples, sighing. “I know, I know, I moved here without a house. I’ll deal with that soon. But listen—“

“Oh! Tom Nook, the realtor, he’ll be able to help you out with that. In fact, it’s top! A mayor should have a custom house, right? If you head north across the railroad tracks, you’ll find his shop and he’ll be able to set you up. Go, go, quickly now.” Before he could fight it, Michael was pushed out the door.

He sighed, deciding that he may as well get a place to live. It was a step in the right direction, at least. Then he could sort out this whole mayor thing.

The bell over the shop rang cheerfully as he stepped inside, a man rushing over and wiping his hands on the front of his suit jacket. “Ah, hello, hello. You must be Michael. Gavin called and said you’d be coming by to commission a house from me. Tom Nook, realtor extraordinaire!” The man stated, shaking his hand quickly. “So, have you picked out a spot for your house yet?”

“Uh…” Michael’s shoulders slumped as he nodded. This place was fucking crazy, and agreeing seemed easier than fighting it. “Yeah. Yeah, I have.”

“Excellent! Please, show me where I’ll be building.”

Leading the man away from the shop and back across the tracks, Michael ran a hand through his curly hair before pointing. “Right there.” It seemed like as good of a place as any.

“A house near the river, hm? Excellent for fishing! You must like to commune with nature, Michael.”

“Sure.”

“Well, let’s see… I can’t build your house right  _now_ , of course, but I’ll just…” The man carefully roped off an area, nodding. “Oh, but I suppose you’ll need a temporary place to stay until we get it built, so…” From seemingly nowhere he produced a tent, setting it up in a matter of minutes and nodding proudly. “Perfect! Now, about the house… building costs, materials, labor, oh and of course tent rental… Ah, I can’t calculate this in my head! Stop by my shop in a day or so and I’ll have the price for you. Take care now, Michael, enjoy your new home!” The guy was off like a shot, leaving Michael to stare at his tent.

“New… home…” He muttered, sighing. “At least there’s a mailbox. What a piece of shit, though.”

With nothing else to do, Michael headed back to the Town Hall. Maybe that Gavin guy could lend him a sleeping bag or something…

“Welcome back, Michael!” Gavin declared as he stepped into the office, smiling widely. “Looks like things are just about set, hm? I’ve filled in your new address information, and here—“ he fished something from the pile of papers on the desk, handing it over “—is your residence card! Now, there’s one more thing to do before you get to work.” Michael raised an eyebrow, stuffing the card into his back pocket and just waiting. “We have a welcoming ceremony for you in the Town Square! Follow me!” Gavin vaulted over the cluttered desk, taking Michael’s hand again and leading him from the room.

Dutifully, Michael ignored the warmth of the hand holding his, instead hurrying to keep up with the mayoral assistant.

Most of the townspeople were gathered at the square, already clapping politely. Gavin stood to one side of a small dirt plot, directing Michael to stand on the other side. “Today we welcome Michael, the new mayor of Texas! To celebrate our new leader, he’s going to plant a sapling here in the Town Square!” Gavin declared, pulling a sapling out (Michael didn’t even  _want_  to know where he’d been storing it) and handing it to Michael. “This tree will grow big and strong under your care, Michael, just like our town!” He beamed, nodding to the hole in the dirt. “Go ahead and plant it.”

Fighting down a sigh and an eyeroll, Michael knelt down and carefully planted the tree into the dirt, refilling the hole around it before he stood again. Everyone cheered and clapped before dispersing.

“Well, I’d better get back to work.” Gavin noted with a smile. “Come find me at the Town Hall if you need anything. For now I suggest getting to know everyone in Texas. It’s important for a mayor to know his citizens, right?”

“I’m not the—“

“I’ll see you later, Michael!” Gavin waved, running off before Michael could finish his sentence. The curly-haired man sighed, rubbing his temples.

“Goddammit fucking son of a bitch.”

He spent most of the rest of the day wandering around the town, collecting fruit that had fallen from the trees and shells from the beach. When evening came, Michael headed back to his tent, carefully zipping it shut behind him and falling onto the ground. He wasn’t looking forward to a night sleeping on that ground, that was for sure.

There was a rustling outside, what might have been an attempt to knock on his tent flap. A moment later the flap was pushed aside, Gavin letting himself into the dim tent. “Oh, sorry to intrude, I just—“

“What, Gavin?” Michael questioned, not bothering to sit up.

“Well, I thought I’d bring you a housewarming gift is all. Moving to a new place can be tough, I know, but having someone to welcome you… it makes it nice, right? A-Anyways, I thought it might be dark in your tent and I’d seen a lantern in the Town Hall storage room so—so here!” Something clunked as it was set down and Michael sat up, blinking in the dimness.

“I… thanks?” He carefully flared the lantern to life, looking up at the sandy-haired man. Gavin’s cheeks were flushed, and he seemed to be having a hard time meeting Michael’s eyes.

“Well, I-I’m glad it works! So, I’ll just be leaving you alone now. Have a nice night, Michael!” With a brush of cloth Gavin was out the door again, though Michael thought he heard a squeaking giggle as the other man ran away.

He smiled a bit, carefully shutting the lantern off again, lying back down and closing his eyes. “Have a nice night…” He agreed, rolling over and immediately being jabbed in the side by a stick. He groaned, rolling the other way, only to be jabbed in the head by a rock.

Whatever inner peace the gift of the lantern had brought was immediately torn to shreds.

“Why couldn’t he give me a  _fucking sleeping bag?!_ ”

Morning dawned bright with birds chirping and Michael groaned, rubbing his red-rimmed eyes and sitting up. He’d barely slept, constantly tossing and turning to try and find a comfortable patch of ground, cursing colorfully at everyone and everything around him. He stumbled from his tent, hoping that he’d be able to find coffee somewhere, surprised to see someone standing right outside.

“Good morning!” The man smiled, nodding to him. “I’m Pete, the delivery man, and I have a letter for you. I don’t always hand deliver, though, so make sure to check your mailbox.” The guy dug into his bag, handing over the letter before waving. “Have a nice day!”

Michael pulled open the envelope, reading the words on the paper within slowly, twice. His fist clenched up, crumpling the paper as a haze of red slowly overtook his vision.

“Fuck shit motherfucking goddammit  _fuck!_ ” He screamed, shredding the paper and throwing it to the ground. He stomped on it, seething and trying to work out the anger, still screaming curses.

By the time he was done the words were barely legible, just some scratches of ink among the dirt. They burned in his memory, though—some asshole had been all set to be mayor, then fucked off about it and left Michael in charge without even consulting him! If he ever found the guy, he was gonna wring his fucking neck.

–

Michael shut his 3DS, resisting the urge to slam it onto the desk as he spun in his chair to level a glare at Gavin. The British man was grinning, nodding excitedly. “Isn’t it fun, Michael?”

“Fuck you. Fuck you with a  _rake_  you son of a bitch. This game is fucking stupid.” Michael ground out, standing up and giving the man next to him a small shove. “I’m deleting that shit off my system.”

“Aw, but Michael, we can visit each other’s towns now! I can give you my cherries!” Gavin protested, huffing.

“Hell yeah he can.” Ray noted from the other side of the room. Neither of the other men acknowledged the comment.

“How the fuck do you even have the patience for this shit, Gavin? Seriously, I bet your town is a piece of shit.” Michael tugged his beanie off, running a hand through his hair and sighing before settling it back on his head.

“Well, come visit me and find out.” Gavin snapped back, snatching up his own 3DS and turning it on.

“I’m gonna set your fucking town on fire.”

“No, not SlowMoVille 2.0!”

“I fucking hate you, Gavin.” Michael sat down again, opening the cover of his 3DS. “So, how the fuck do I visit you, anyways?”


End file.
